How to Win at Facebook Marketing with a Memorable Phone Number

For the social media industry, Facebook is the 800lb gorilla in the room. The company is frequently mentioned alongside Apple, Netflix and Google as a leader in the wider tech sector (indeed, they're at the head of the FANG stock group, although more for catchy acronym purposes than anything else). Their platform boasts the largest user base of any social network or website, while their users are more active on the platform than any other. In fact, a significant portion of Facebook’s user base accesses the application multiple times per day. Some use it several times an hour. In short, Facebook is the most lucrative online space for businesses to promote their products and services.

The Evolution of Facebook Marketing

Over the years, Facebook has changed how it shows information to its users. In the early days, businesses who created a page could reach all of the people who followed them with their posts. Over time, and as more pages were created, a new algorithm was created, called EdgeRank, to sort through page posts and determine what individual users would see on their homepage. Reaching followers became harder: the average reach of a page’s post is 10% of their total followers. Facebook’s aim with EdgeRank, ultimately, was to force businesses to pay to reach their users and severely limit organic reach. Despite EdgeRank, there are still a few ways to earn organic exposure on Facebook. The key is to create and share content that users — your followers in particular — will like and share. Part of EdgeRank’s algorithm is to increasingly show content to users that have more likes and shares, which means these two user actions should be the focus of every post. Next, we'll look at ways you can use what we know about EdgeRank and user habits to make your Facebook marketing stand out.  

Tips to Win at Facebook Marketing

Visual media is the most widely shared content on the platform. Videos and attention-grabbing images or memes are currently lauded and rewarded on Facebook, so this is where your marketing ideas need to begin. As we discussed in our article on how to win at Instagram, memorable phone numbers are one of the most useful tools you can use to drive more customers to your business. Here are several ways that you can win at Facebook with smart marketing techniques and a memorable phone number:  

Tell a Story

With two billion users, and countless businesses competing to reach them, it is important to stand apart from all the noise. Most people and companies share a hodgepodge of information about themselves with no real cohesiveness, and their posts fall on oversaturated ears. The most successful pages are those that tell a coherent, compelling story.

The most successful pages are those that tell a coherent, compelling story.

Take, for example, the story of Nas Daily, an internet sensation who now makes his living exclusively making videos for Facebook. Two years ago, Nas embarked on an incredible new journey. He hated his day job and had a deep desire to travel the world. On a whim, he quit his job and started traveling. He set a goal for himself to create one one-minute video every day about his adventures. At first, the videos fell flat. No one watched them, and no one cared. His production skills were amateurish, and he had not yet found the inspiring stories that would later build his following. Nas stuck with it. He did not give up, even when he most wanted to return to his old life. Every day, he made another video, and then another. Over time his skills improved and he made new friends who had inspiring stories to tell, and he told them. Eventually, his following grew to such massive proportions that he became one of the most successful video bloggers in history. Do you like his story? Is it compelling to you? Would you consider following Nas? Human beings are wired to enjoy and be inspired by stories. Nas has masterfully crafted one of the most compelling stories on the internet and reaches millions of Facebook users every day organically. While your business will not likely reach the same success as Nas on Facebook, his story does illustrate how effectively storytelling earns organic reach. To win on Facebook, you need to craft a compelling, inspiring story about your business through your content.    

Use Memes

Memes were once thought of as a juvenile endeavor. Over the years this perception has changed, particularly since memes have become among the most widely shared form of content on Facebook. Humor is an effective way to convey a message to consumers. We can see the particularly powerful influence of humor in Super Bowl ads, which are almost always humorous. Advertising has become more about entertaining than directly pitching a product.

Advertising has become more about entertaining than directly pitching a product.

Facebook is no different. To reach a wider audience, you will want to think of ways that you can incorporate humor. The most effective form of humor comes in the form of memes. Simply use a picture you have the rights to use and caption it with something funny. Make sure whatever joke you make is both appropriate to your brand, as well as kid-friendly — keep it clean and professional. Memes do not have to be humorous, either. Many memes convey more serious messages, such as uplifting quotes from famous leaders of the past, bible verses, and other inspirational slogans. The concept is the same. Use pictures you have the right to use and add your text to it.  

Make Short Videos

Videos are considered the most effective tool to market a business online. As consumer attention spans shrink, so too do your videos need to shorten. As we discussed in a previous section, Nas Daily committed to making one-minute videos precisely because that’s about as long as someone will commit to his videos. Your business will need to keep this in mind as well. Videos can be humorous, informative, or simply a day-in-the-life format to be interesting, compelling, and earn a share. Make sure videos fit within the larger narrative you are telling through your content.

Add a Memorable Phone Number

While telling a compelling story and driving likes and shares to your posts should be your primary focus, you also want to maximize your conversion of people who see your video into prospects and customers. Since the main call-to-action will be a like or a share, buttons and other calls-to-action that require consumers to click elsewhere will only detract from your main goals. Memorable phone numbers are the perfect tool to engage new customers, especially for small, local businesses. Without exception, every image and video you post should have your logo and your easy to remember custom business phone number. Why? Because the whole point of trying to win on Facebook is to promote your business. [search-tag]  

The Takeaway

Facebook is the biggest opportunity for businesses to get in front of new customers. A two-billion user base means the platform has one of the most extensive consumer datasets in the world, and they make it available to your business (to a certain extent). To stand apart from your competition with your Facebook marketing, you will need to craft a compelling story about your brand to drive follower engagement. The goal of each post should be to create as many likes and shares as possible. Share memes, photos, and videos, and most importantly, add your memorable phone number to every post.